I fall too much. Blame it on Vibram soles if you'll buy that, though I've always fallen in years past with felt. Anyway, I'm thinking of putting spikes in my boots, and curious as to other folks' experience with them. ??

steve

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The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation, unless they fly fish... with apologies to Thoreau

I'd go with something aluminum like the Simms aluminum stars. Carbide can still skate on very hard rock. Aluminum is sticky to rocks. Think about dragging an aluminum canoe over river rocks. Hope you find something that works.

I've been using the alumibite Simms product for a little while now. I like them better than the starcleat. Both products increase traction, but I've found they don't last as long as I'd like, and effectiveness diminishes rather quickly. Patagonia has some crampons that look really good, but they're quite proud of their products (I think they list for around $200).

I fall too much. Blame it on Vibram soles if you'll buy that, though I've always fallen in years past with felt. Anyway, I'm thinking of putting spikes in my boots, and curious as to other folks' experience with them. ??

steve

Stonefly,

My goto boots are the Simms Guide boot - vibram sole with the carbide screws. I own 2 pair to date because I never wanted to be without if one needed repair. Two years later no repairs, great traction, the most comfortable if you hike in. Mine are not the newest that have recently come out with the Boa lace system.

I have a size 13 for wet wading and a size 14 for wear with waders.

You are more than welcome to try a pair of mine at your water before deciding. Just shoot me an email.

I fall too much. Blame it on Vibram soles if you'll buy that, though I've always fallen in years past with felt. Anyway, I'm thinking of putting spikes in my boots, and curious as to other folks' experience with them. ??

steve

Have you thought about ditching the vibram for felt? Vibram is great for hiking on the trail but completely fails in the stream IMHO.

Thanks guys. I have an old pair of felts (probably a couple) but wanting to do my bit to fight didymo, I went for Vibram several years ago. For Christmas this year I got a pair of Simms Vapor, the new lightweight hiking boot style, and those are the ones I'm considering for spikes or cleats.
My older pair of Vibram w/o spikes will be fine for the Caney - anything works there.
I guess my most frequent falls are on angled slabs. Got a bad dislocated shoulder at Cataloochee a few years ago when my feet slid forward and I sat heavily backwards. Then again I had a pretty bad fall last year at Cataloochee (is there a pattern here?) when my toe missed its grip stepping up to the bank and I went down on one knee, hard.
Seems to me that the aluminum cleats that Silver suggested may be the most effective for my situation. We will see...

steve

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The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation, unless they fly fish... with apologies to Thoreau

Years ago I bought a set of aluminum rivets for wading boots. They had a dome head with a post. The rivet was about dime size with a domed head. You inserted the rivet in the hole and drove the post flush with the head with a hammer which expanded the rivet in the sole. They worked well. I didn' know the name of the rivet and have been looking all over the web for it. Turns out it is called an Aluminum Drive Rivet. Another option.